1994 Atlantic hurricane season (Sass's version)
The 1994 Atlantic hurricane season was an active year in tropical cyclone formation. With all 15 tropical depressions developing into named storms, this was the highest seasonal total since 1969. A further seven of these became hurricanes. Of the seven hurricanes this year, three of them intensified to major hurricanes, which, according to the Saffir-Simpson Scale, has winds of at least 111 miles per hour or greater. While no storms made landfall at major hurricane intensity, two storms (Hurricanes Ernesto and Oscar) became category 4 hurricanes, which have winds of at least 130 miles per hour. Two storms in particular (Alberto and Oscar) had a calamitous impact across the Greater Antilles and southeast United States. Seasonal activity typically starts on June 1st each year, and ends on November 30th. No tropical activity occurred until June 28th, when a tropical disturbance in the central Caribbean Sea developed and was named Alberto. Alberto, a very weak hurricane, dropped rain across Cuba and caused heavy flooding in Florida and Georgia. Tropical Storm Beryl formed in early July and made landfall in Nova Scotia. Tropical Storm Chris formed off the coast of South Carolina, bringing heavy rain to the state. In August, Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida and was sustained over land due to the brown ocean effect. Heavy rainfall and multiple tornadoes were reported from the Florida Keys to upstate New York. Later that month gave way to the first Cape Verde hurricane of the season, Ernesto, a powerful category 4 hurricane that dropped heavy rain on Bermuda and lashed the United States East Coast with strong waves. At the end of August came Tropical Storm Florence, a storm that rapidly intensified in the Bay of Campeche and made landfall in eastern Veracruz. September kicked off with Hurricane Gordon, a major hurricane that formed just east of the Lesser Antilles. Gordon's track brought it across Jamaica, Cozumel, the Yucatán Peninsula, and Texas. Heavy wind shear plagued the storm, preventing it from becoming as powerful as initially predicted, lessening impacts. The refinery capacity in the Gulf of Mexico was still heavily impacted by the storm, however. Tropical Storm Helene followed, meandering aimlessly near Cape Verde. Later that month, Tropical Storm Isaac brought heavy rain to Central America, particularly Belize and Honduras. Hurricane Joyce followed, bringing heavy rain and strong waves to much of the Eastern United States (North Carolina in particular) as it moved northeast, just offshore. Tropical Storm Keith was a weak storm that briefly attained storm-force winds as it moved to the north of Cape Verde. In October, Tropical Storm Leslie formed off the coast of Nicaragua and brought flooding rains to several areas in the region, extending over to El Salvador and Guatemala in the East Pacific. Leslie later dissipated over the Mexican state Campeche. Tropical Storm Michael then formed in the central Caribbean, bringing heavy rain, high winds, and even tornadoes to the historic city of La Habana. November was unusually active, featuring Hurricane Nadine, a high-end category 2 hurricane that had absolutely no impact on land. The season closed out with Hurricane Oscar, a destructive category 4 hurricane whose long-lived track brought absolute destruction to endless Caribbean islands, U.S. territories, and southeast United States. Particularly hard-hit was the Republic of Haiti, where rain-induced flooding and storm surge insinuated a humanitarian crisis. Over 1200 people lost their lives in that country alone. Recovery is predicted to take years, potentially decades, to fully recover, as the country remained impoverished and desperately in need of resources long before Oscar's arrival. Collectively, the storms of 1994 caused TBD in damage and TBD deaths. Pre-Season Forecasts Seasonal Summary ImageSize = width:800 height:200 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/06/1994 till:31/12/1994 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/06/1994 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_≤39_mph_(≤62_km/h) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117_km/h) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(119–153_km/h) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96–110_mph_(154–177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111–130_mph_(178–209_km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_131–155_mph_(210–249_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_≥156_mph_(≥250_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:8 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/06/1994 till:01/07/1994 text:June from:01/07/1994 till:01/08/1994 text:July from:01/08/1994 till:01/09/1994 text:August from:01/09/1994 till:01/10/1994 text:September from:01/10/1994 till:01/11/1994 text:October from:01/11/1994 till:01/12/1994 text:November from:01/12/1994 till:31/12/1994 text:December TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:"Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale)" The 1994 season is considered to be above-average. The average Atlantic hurricane season, as defined by NOAA, has 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes. The 1994 season produced 15 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. More than three-quarters of this season's storms either made landfall or directly impacted land in some way, shape, or form. Despite starting on June 1st, per annual convention, the first named storm, Hurricane Alberto, did not form until 28 days past. The season's final storm, Hurricane Oscar, became extratropical on November 22. The season's most significant impacts occurred across the southeastern United States and northern Caribbean islands. It all started with Alberto, who initially dropped heavy but uninhibiting rain over western Cuba. The storm later made landfall in the Florida panhandle and stalled over southern Georgia, dropping torrential rains. These rains triggered heavy river flooding from Valdosta to Albany, shutting down a 40 mile section of Interstate 75 and causing horrendous damage - at least 6800 residents were forced out of their uninhabitable homes. Tropical Storm Beryl was a weak, minuscule Gulf Stream tropical cyclone. The storm brought foggy, rainy conditions to Halifax, Nova Scotia and surrounding areas but was not held responsible for any damage, fatalities, or injuries. Tropical Storm Chris, a very short-lived and disheveled cyclone, initially formed off the coast of South Carolina from an upper-level low. The storm made landfall the same day it formed and brought heavy rain to the entire state. Two tornadoes were reported in Charleston, causing widespread but relatively minor damage. The cyclone dissipated the next day as it crossed into North Carolina. Hurricane Debby formed in the Gulf of Mexico, 57 miles off the coast of Cocodrie, Louisiana. The storm slowly intensified as it meandered near the Gulf Coast, thrashing southern Louisiana with strong waves, torrential rains, and moderately strong tornadoes. Once on a northeasterly track, Debby achieved minimal hurricane status and made landfall in the Florida panhandle, which was still recovering from Alberto the previous month. Hurricane Ernesto was a powerful category 4 hurricane that originated near Cape Verde. The storm did not have any effect on land with the exception of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms affecting Bermuda for a period of three days. The next storm, Tropical Storm Florence formed in the Bay of Campeche from a long-tracked tropical wave initially predicted to become a powerful hurricane east of the Windward Islands. Florence rapidly intensified soon after formation and peaked with sustained winds of 60 miles per hour. The storm made an insignificant landfall in southern Mexico and dissipated after interacting with the mountainous terrain. September brought Hurricane Gordon, a long-lived but relatively insignificant major hurricane. Forming east of the Lesser Antilles, Gordon initially crossed Martinique as a severe tropical storm before later weakening to tropical depression in the eastern Caribbean. Unfavorable conditions plagued Gordon throughout its existence in the Caribbean Sea, briefly achieving the minimum intensity for major hurricane status before weakening back to a tropical storm and striking the Yucatán Peninsula. Gordon re-intensified to hurricane status as it approached Houston, Texas but weakened under hurricane intensity as it crossed the coastline. Oil refineries throughout the Gulf Coast suffered heavy damage at the mercy of rough surf and high winds, but damage over land was strictly limited to downed trees and widespread power outages. Tropical Storm Helene formed unexpectedly east of Cape Verde, prompting the very rare issuance of Tropical Storm Warnings for the entirety of the archipelago. The storm remained weak due to intrusion from the Saharan Air Layer, causing it to dissipate within a matter of days. Tropical Storm Isaac came a few days after Gordon's dissipation, rapidly intensifying as it approached Central America. The storm never made it to hurricane status and rapidly weakened overland as it passed into Guatemala. Hurricane Joyce was a moderately strong hurricane that posed a major threat to the United States Eastern Seaboard. Despite never making landfall in the contiguous United States, it barely stayed offshore and caused heavy damage to coastal areas stretching from Georgia up through Maine. The Carolinas were heavily affected, with a direct hit that coincided with the storm's peak intensity. Joyce passed into Nova Scotia as a minimal hurricane, causing heavy damage to the nation's vegetation and power grid. Tropical Storm Keith mimicked Tropical Storm Helene from a few weeks prior - becoming a tropical storm to the northeast of the Cape Verde islands. The system dissipated within a matter of two days after holding tropical storm-force winds for less than six hours. Tropical Storm Leslie was a disorganized yet destructive tropical cyclone held responsible for $830 million in damage and 120 fatalities in Nicaragua and Honduras. Despite being short-lived, a large, swirling swath of rains stalled over Central America, damaging roads and infrastructure and causing a short-lived civil war in parts of Honduras, especially Tegucigalpa. The storm was so large that it extended into parts of the eastern Pacific, whipping up squall lines along the southern coast of Guatemala and even portions of Chiapas, Mexico. Systems Hurricane Alberto Tropical Storm Beryl Tropical Storm Chris Hurricane Debby Hurricane Ernesto Tropical Storm Florence Hurricane Gordon Tropical Storm Helene Tropical Storm Isaac Hurricane Joyce Tropical Storm Keith Tropical Storm Leslie Tropical Storm Michael Hurricane Nadine Hurricane Oscar Storm Names The following list of names was used to name North Atlantic tropical cyclones this year. This is the same list used in the 1988 season with the exception of Gordon and Joyce, which replaced Gilbert and Joan, respectively. The names not retired from this list will be used again for the 2000 season. Retirement At the annual meeting of the World Meteorological Organization in the spring of 1995, the names Alberto and Oscar were retired due to the heavy damage caused and extensive number of fatalities reported. They were replaced with Alejandro and Orville for the 2000 season, respectively. Season Effects Category:Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Active hurricane seasons